1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems, devices and methods for identifying pet animals and for all animals having a muzzle, and more particularly relates to a device and method for scanning muzzle patterns of an animal and using the muzzle pattern as a unique identifier of the animal.
2. Description of Related Art
Animal identification systems are required to create and record a unique identifier for each animal which would be helpful in identifying lost pets, transportation of animals and preventing animal theft and endangered animal contraband. Different techniques are used for unique identification of animals which include traditional methods of marking animals such as branding (using heat, cold or chemicals), tattooing, toe clipping and ear notching. The traditional marking procedures are time consuming, expensive and involves tissue damage which causes pain to animals and therefore ethically unacceptable.
Another method of marking involves tagging animal ears with RFID tags. These methods of tagging can potentially affect their behavior and cause harm to animals, leading to erroneous research results and poor animal welfare. In some cases, microchips are implanted in the animal body which can be used for identification and collecting physiological data. However, these implanted microchips pose limitations due to migration or failure of microchip and may cause side effects including hair loss, infection, inflammation and tumor formation in animals. An ideal method of identification should identify individuals reliably and permanently without any adverse effects on the animals.
Biometric methods have therefore been developed to recognize animals based on physical characteristics or behavioral signs. Some of these methods have been used for some time for reliable identification of humans. The tip of the nose or muzzle of most animals has unique pattern or a network of tiny growth that are formed in the epidermis layer of the skin. This unique pattern becomes fixed right after the birth of the animal and can be seen with naked eyes. This animal specific muzzle pattern could be used for identification just like finger print pattern of human beings.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a device and method for identification and registration of animals using a unique identifier based on physical characteristic specific to each animal.